Metro's F1 columnist and car/travel/luxury writer for various inc. Air Mail and The Sunday Times. Author of some books. I drive expensive cars and call it work.
I drove an ambulance 1,000 miles across Ukraine to the front line, where I shadowed combat medics and saw what life is like in a war zone. Here's my story for Rolling Stone...
#ukrainewar
Just completed
#DriveToSurvive
, which goes public tomorrow. Jolly exciting and the last ep doesn't disappoint. As usual, the best things in it are G.Steiner and
@wbuxtonofficial
. Horner won't win friends. Nor the Mazepins. George Russell's pretty Marmite. Tsunoda - so weird.
#F1
@MarinaHyde
When I was 14, I played cricket away at Sherborne and saw one of the pupils riding around the quad on a penny farthing. I thought at the time: what a pretentious twat. Years later, I discovered it was Chris Martin from Coldplay.
Speaking with
@HillF1
in today's
@MetroUK
, the '96 champ says Max Verstappen's title win was "diminished slightly" last year and that Formula One "can't just pander to adrenalin".
#F1
#DamonHill
@SkySportsF1
Oh for goodness sakes Christian. Bloke got winded and went to hospital for a check up. What do you want, a minute’s silence when someone gets a paper cut?
#F1
Red Bull boss Christian Horner stands firm on his criticisms of Mercedes' post-race British GP celebrations, and doesn't accept comments his team made were too 'personal'.
#F1
@Anna_Soubry
@LeeAndersonMP_
Did he sleep in a paper bag in a septic tank, perchance, eat hot gravel, or get up half an hour before he went to bed to lick road clean wit tongue?
Kimi retiring truly is the end of an era. This is me and Finnish journo Heikki Kulta with the Kimster at Pacha São Paulo 9hrs after he won the 07 championship. I asked him for a photo together. He replied “Fuck off... have you got a cigarette?”
#F1
#kimiraikkonen
@alfaromeoracing
Syed absolutely skewers Christian Horner in The Times today. Makes some valid points about CH’s strategy of being both victim and aggressor. Calls out a lot of his BS too.
#F1
Of the revelations enclosed in this cache of alleged Christian Horner texts, the most disappointing is that he doesn’t know the difference between your and you’re.
#F1
Saudi Arabia's ban on women driving officially ended today. I don't think we'll have to wait long until and international motor race - and, specifically, an all-female race - is announced there.
#F1
#SaudiWomenDriving
@JaneyGodley
If he spends Inauguration Day up at Turnburry, as is rumoured, I shall be joining you up there with an even more offensive placard (if possible)
@afneil
Just watching this clip, and fair play you pushed Savile harder than any other TV interview I've seen. I think you really got under his skin. What are your thoughts looking back on that interview?
@metpoliceuk
It wasn't really necessary, was it? What was much more necessary was to help young women in London feel safe after one of them was kidnapped and murdered by a serving officer (allegedly). Now you've got footage of cops grabbing girls and pinning them to the ground. Disgraceful.
'Arrabbiatta', 'Casanova', 'Palagio'. Mugello has some glorious-sounding corner names, but Martin Brundle says he prefers 'Maggots' and 'Becketts', Jesus H.
#TuscanGP
#F1
@MarinaHyde
There’s an addendum: Gwyneth Paltrow stepped into a lift with me once at Soho House West Hollywood, so I (somewhat tentatively) took the opportunity to tell her said penny farthing anecdote. She laughed so hard I thought she was going to snap in half.
@harrismonkey
A year or two later I was at a party with him ion Budapest where he had this man bag and swung it around his head, showering the dance floor with his cash and cards. Someone handed in his drivers licence a week later.
I’m at a
@fiat
event in Turin, and
@U2
’s Bono (whose 1st car was a Fiat) has made a surprise appearance. A
@red
edition of the all-electric 500 is being made and
@stellantis_official
will donate $4m over 3 years to
@red
to provide Covid vaccines to the world’s poorest countries
I spoke off-the-record with a senior
#F1
figure this week about Christian Horner: "From what I hear, I don’t think he’s going to make it. And I think that’s a shame, because he’s done a great job, he’s won lots of championships, and it’ll be a bit sad if it ends this way." 1/2
I've driven the £1.2m track-only Brabham BT62 for
@BritishGQ
and I've never been round corners quicker. 1,200kg of downforce! It is exceptional. You might want to tear up that McLaren Senna order.
@brabsracer
@brabhamauto
@thesportsmuppet
@wbuxtonofficial
Hmm. Focused, gifted, smooth British superstar or arrogant young prick who’s gone full-Monaco. Both valid points of view.
In Dubai for 2023’s most hyped hotel opening:
@ATLANTIS
The Royal. Lunch with Jay Z. Man travels with a beautiful bespoke backgammon table. Nearly slammed down a fiver and said ‘HOVE! Care to make it interesting?’
Today I was pulled over by 4 police cars! My car had been reported stolen. It seems the auctioneers I bought it from in February - Coys - have since gone into administration and my car's previous owner never got his money. Has anyone had experience of this sort of thing before?
Good call from Red Bull. Sergio Perez will will races for them and collect serious points. Alex Albon is a brilliant wheel-to-wheel racer, though, and needs better nurturing. Not sure Marko and Horner are the right people rebuild him.
#F1
McLaren GT is unveiled: 203mph, £163k, bigger boot than we've seen on Woking cars past and lighter weight than any GT rival. Looks good, too.
@McLarenAuto
#cars
#supercars
Many
#F1
fans reflecting they’re missing the Monaco Grand Prix that should have been yesterday. I for one was relieved to awake this morning with no hangover, a full wallet, and no horrendous and taste-averse twats outside my window ragging their dad’s cars.
Last night’s tremendous repast at The (proper) Ivy. Can you guess which one of us left with an £11,500 Girard Perregaux watch? Thank you to
@TheBishF1
and
@AstonMartinF1
for a fabulously competitive pub quiz and this morning’s considerable hangover.
#F1
#BritishGP
@harrismonkey
I have so many Kimi stories. Highlights include a party in China in 05 when he was forcibly removed from the women’s bogs (slightly less laudable post Weinstein), was basically strapped to his hotel bed, and 10 mins later room service turns up with “50 Heinekens for Mr Raikkonen”
@harrismonkey
This is me and Finnish journo Heikki Kulta with the Kimster 9hrs after he won the 07 championship. I asked him for a pic together. He relied “Fuck off... have you got a cigarette?”
Things are backfiring spectacularly for
@AlpineF1Team
. Piastri hasn't just denied he's signed, he's announced he won't race for the team in '23. To send Alpine packing like that must mean he's signed with McLaren. Which is bad news for Ricciardo. And great news for lawyers.
#F1
Watching the Sky and C4 F1 gridwalks... Everyone's talking about the Brundle-Delevingne snub, and no one seems to have noticed that the "random gentleman" that went unrecognised by
@therealdcf1
was, in fact, 3-time GP winner and former DC rival
@frentzen_hh
#BritishGP
#F1
I can't make it to the
#76MM
@GoodwoodRRC
Members Meeting this weekend, so I'm selling my ticket to the highest bidder and donating the funds to
@henryhopefrost
's family. Please Tweet me.
#Fever
Given Verstappen owes his 2021 world title to Perez, I think it's disgraceful he refused to let the Mexican have 4th place today to help him claim the runner-up spot in the standings long after Max has already taken the '22 crown.
#F1
#SaoPauloGP
I know three tracks have (or will) host two races each, but to get 17 events on the
#F1
calendar this year is a better recovery than many of us expected, so fair play
@F1
.
The New Year honours list is out and
@LewisHamilton
isn't on it. Amazing that you can be a five-times world championship-winning Brit (and history-maker in other ways) and still be parked on an MBE. Whereas: instant knighthood for anyone who can ride a bicycle.
Goodwood has sold out of
#76MM
tickets. I'm selling my weekend ticket and donating the cash to
@henryhopefrost
's family. Who would like to kick off the bidding? Do I hear £100?
#Fever